Well, I think they’re *both* good. Not equal to each other, but one comic book being good will never be a reason for me not to like a different comic book.

I liked how it addressed that old Superman story showing what happened to the Legionnaires as adults. “Shadow Woman” who hadn’t even been introduced yet as a member of the teen team — was shown as being killed in action on the science asteroid. Sure enough, she and Mon-El traveled to it in this story — and she came “this” close to meeting her maker.

The Cockrum chapter is really well done. Dave was still at the top of his game then — though his style was a bit more gritter than his 70s work — which made it very appropo for this story. No one could draw Wildfire like Dave.

The resolution of Ferro Lad’s brother’s dilemma was so touching, it almost brought a tear to me eye.

Anyway, I was all set to bring that comic with me to Spain but I forgot it on my desk at home. I spent much of the next two months thinking about that story, how it was just about as amazingly great as a superhero comic book could be.

The night I came back home from Spain, one of the first things I did was grab that comic and re-read it immediately. It was even better than I remembered.

I *still* have that comic. It’s more than a bit beat-up over time, but I treasure it highly.

While I had scattershot issues of the LSH from the past, I had only just jumped aboard LSH with on a monthly basis starting with #293 (yup, that’s right. One of the most confusing, compressed, and crowded comics ever written roped me in.) so some of the eras depicted didn’t mean anything to me personally but I loved the different takes on the characters and I thought it interesting how each one seemed to get worse and worse as the story progressed. My personal favorite was the Earth/War story because it was one of only a handful of LSH issues, heck any issues back then, that I had at the time.

Great memories. Keep em coming.

I’ve got it in a box somewhere and it may be on the net for someone to find, but Joe Stanton did a comedic spoof of his chapter that is incredible.

And count me in as one who was never particularly fond of the cover. Great concept, but I wish it could have worked like they did for DCU jam a few years later (http://namtab.com/aquablog/dcuhistory2.gif).

Couple of thoughts on a great topic:

• As already noted by previous posters, the real significance (and genius) of LSH 300 was the deft escape from the creative straight-jacket of Shooter’s (in)famous Adult Legion story — while still keeping said story in continuity.

In those days before reboots were a dime a dozen, the validity of the Adult Legion story — and the events depicted therein — was a hot topic. Many longtime fans were antsy to start seeing some of those events come to pass (“When is Quantum Queen going to join?”). Meanwhile, Levitz, Giffen & company were understandably reluctant to fully endorse a story that spoils the fate of a significant portion of their then-current cast. LSH 300 was their solution. (Perhaps Mr. Giffen might offer some behind-the-scenes insights…)

My reaction at the time was a mixture of sadness — that something special had been lost — crossed with an appreciation for an elegant compromise.

• While I also appreciate the concept behind the cover and the massive logistical effort that it must have taken to coordinate so many artists, the execution is a bit disappointing. The composition is very static, with little or no interaction between the characters. It feels as if the individual figures were done separately and then pasted together (most of them probably were). In addition, many of the contributions are far from the artists’ best work; the figures from Aparo, Colan and Simonson are completely generic. At the moment, I can’t think of a similar “jam” cover for comparison — but contrast this with any of the many character-heavy covers George Perez has done over the years. (I know that’s not apples to apples, but still…)

I’mma have to find it!

I love this issue, and the JLA # 200 that’s referenced as well. In each case the art choices are inspired AND they manage to tell a thrilling story in the process. I wish we got more comics like that today (rather than decompressed and/or gloomy work that leaves one feeling empty).

P.S. I really, really wish the powers that be could get the Word Press error fixed that requires me to double- or triple-post any comment each time I have anything to say. Very annoying.

I had started collecting during The Great Darkness Saga and the issues leading up to 300 kept the quality of the story high.

I long for the return of the real legion.

Hopefully they’ll get a return to their own title when Legion of 3 Worlds wraps!

Thanks for a great remembrance of a classic issue…I have to go dig mine out of storage.

G.

Compare this with say, Marvel and the notion that nothing is safe, nothing is sacred, which comes from using Spider-Man as the anchor.